HF 3538

as introduced - 81st Legislature (1999 - 2000) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to capital improvements; authorizing spending 
  1.3             to acquire and to better public land and buildings and 
  1.4             other public improvements of a capital nature; for 
  1.5             grants to cities along the DM&E railroad for 
  1.6             mitigation purposes; providing for a charge against 
  1.7             major private construction projects to help fund 
  1.8             mitigation measures; authorizing issuance of bonds; 
  1.9             appropriating money; proposing coding for new law in 
  1.10            Minnesota Statutes, chapter 116C. 
  1.11  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.12     Section 1.  [116C.42] [CHARGE TO RECOVER PUBLIC COSTS OF 
  1.13  LARGE PROJECTS.] 
  1.14     Subdivision 1.  [PURPOSE.] The charge under this section is 
  1.15  intended to allow local governments to recover on behalf of the 
  1.16  public the environmental and public infrastructure costs of 
  1.17  major private construction projects located in more than one 
  1.18  unit of local government. 
  1.19     Subd. 2.  [DEFINITIONS.] (a) For purposes of this section, 
  1.20  the following terms have the meanings given them. 
  1.21     (b) "Board" means the environmental quality board. 
  1.22     (c) "Governmental unit" means a statutory or home rule 
  1.23  charter city or county in which the project will be located. 
  1.24     (c) "Qualified project" means a project which the board 
  1.25  finds meets the requirements of subdivision 4. 
  1.26     Subd. 3.  [SCOPE OF APPLICATION.] This section applies to 
  1.27  qualifying projects that satisfy each of the following criteria: 
  1.28     (1) the project improvements are located in five or more 
  2.1   counties; 
  2.2      (2) the project improvements consist of the construction of 
  2.3   a new or a substantial upgrade or improvement of one of the 
  2.4   following: 
  2.5      (i) pipeline; 
  2.6      (ii) high voltage electric utility line; 
  2.7      (iii) railroad line; 
  2.8      (iv) canals, locks, dams, or other waterway improvements; 
  2.9   or 
  2.10     (v) highway; 
  2.11     (3) the improvements require approval by a federal 
  2.12  regulatory agency; and 
  2.13     (4) the estimated cost of the improvements, submitted for 
  2.14  federal regulatory purposes, exceeds $1,000,000,000, including 
  2.15  any portion of the project located outside of the state of 
  2.16  Minnesota. 
  2.17     Subd. 4.  [ASSESSMENT OF NEED.] (a) Upon application by 
  2.18  three or more governmental units, the board shall conduct an 
  2.19  assessment of whether the project: 
  2.20     (1) meets the requirements to be a qualified project under 
  2.21  subdivision 3; and 
  2.22     (2) will, if constructed as planned, impose environmental 
  2.23  and public infrastructure costs, required to preserve the 
  2.24  current level of public health and safety, on the applicant 
  2.25  units of government in excess of $10,000,000. 
  2.26     (b) In making the determination under this subdivision, the 
  2.27  board may consider the estimated costs of: 
  2.28     (1) air, water, or noise pollution mitigation costs, 
  2.29  including public infrastructure improvements, that the local 
  2.30  units of government will incur as a result of the project; 
  2.31     (2) public infrastructure improvements that the local units 
  2.32  of government will need to make to preserve public health and 
  2.33  safety as a result of construction of the project; and 
  2.34     (3) acquisition and relocation of public or private 
  2.35  facilities that would be severely impacted by construction and 
  2.36  operation of the project. 
  3.1      Subd. 5.  [IMPOSITION OF CHARGE.] The board shall, by 
  3.2   resolution, impose a charge on the owner or operator of the 
  3.3   qualified project to compensate the governmental units for the 
  3.4   costs imposed on them.  The maximum amount of the charge may not 
  3.5   exceed the estimate of the costs under subdivision 4.  This 
  3.6   charge is not a tax and is not in place of any other charges, 
  3.7   fees, or taxes that are obligations of the project. 
  3.8      Subd. 6.  [COLLECTION.] The resolution of the board must 
  3.9   establish the time for payment of the charge, procedures for 
  3.10  payment of the charge, and penalties for failure to pay the 
  3.11  charge.  Any charges and penalties that remain unpaid at the end 
  3.12  of the calendar year in which they are due are a lien against 
  3.13  the project property and are secured and collected as unpaid 
  3.14  property taxes of the project.  The board shall certify to the 
  3.15  county auditors for each county in which the project is located 
  3.16  the proportionate amount of the unpaid charges and penalties and 
  3.17  the county auditor shall treat the amounts as unpaid property 
  3.18  taxes of the project property located in the county. 
  3.19     Subd. 7.  [PUBLIC HEARING.] Before imposing a charge under 
  3.20  this section, the board shall hold a public hearing after 
  3.21  publishing notice, at least 30 days but not more than 60 days 
  3.22  before the hearing date, in the state register. 
  3.23     Subd. 8.  [OBJECTIONS.] Before the resolution imposing the 
  3.24  charge is adopted by the board or at the hearing at which it is 
  3.25  to be adopted, the owner or operator of the project or an 
  3.26  applicant unit of local government may file a written objection 
  3.27  with the board asserting that: 
  3.28     (1) the project is not a qualified project; or 
  3.29     (2) the levy of a charge on the project exceeds or is less 
  3.30  than the costs imposed on the local government. 
  3.31     Subd. 9.  [APPEAL TO DISTRICT COURT.] Within 30 days after 
  3.32  the determination of the objection, any person or governmental 
  3.33  unit aggrieved, who is not precluded by failure to object before 
  3.34  or at the hearing, or whose failure to object is due to a 
  3.35  reasonable cause, may appeal to the district court by serving a 
  3.36  notice upon the board.  The notice must be filed with the court 
  4.1   administrator of the district court within ten days after its 
  4.2   service.  The board shall furnish the appellant a certified copy 
  4.3   of the findings and determination of the board.  The court may 
  4.4   affirm the action objected to or, if the appellant's objections 
  4.5   have merit, modify or cancel it.  If the appellant does not 
  4.6   prevail upon the appeal, the costs incurred shall be taxed to 
  4.7   the appellant by the court and judgment entered for them.  All 
  4.8   objections are waived unless presented on appeal. 
  4.9      Subd. 10.  [DEPOSIT OF REVENUES.] The board must deposit 
  4.10  the charges in the general fund for distribution, as provided by 
  4.11  law, to the affected governmental units. 
  4.12     Sec. 2.  [APPROPRIATION.] 
  4.13     (a) $50,000,000 is appropriated from the bond proceeds fund 
  4.14  to the commissioner of trade and economic development for grants 
  4.15  to the cities and counties in proportions provided in this 
  4.16  section for mitigation of the adverse impacts of the increased 
  4.17  railroad activity within the DM&E railroad corridor.  Mitigation 
  4.18  measures may include, but are not limited to:  traffic crossing 
  4.19  safety improvements; traffic/train vehicle conflict reduction 
  4.20  measures such as grade separations, improvements to connecting 
  4.21  streets to redirect traffic to other crossings, or alternative 
  4.22  railroad alignments; pedestrian safety measures; noise 
  4.23  mitigation measures including, but not limited to, sound walls, 
  4.24  the construction of berms, acquisition or relocation of the most 
  4.25  severely impacted properties, whistle-free crossing 
  4.26  improvements, directional horns for train crossings, and other 
  4.27  measures to reduce noise impacts on adjacent properties; 
  4.28  improvements to emergency services operations designed to reduce 
  4.29  emergency response time including, but not limited to, advance 
  4.30  train warning systems and construction of emergency services 
  4.31  facilities (fire, police, and ambulance) to improve response 
  4.32  time. 
  4.33     (b) Of the amount appropriated in paragraph (a), 
  4.34  $25,000,000 must be allocated to each city in proportion to the 
  4.35  city's population based on the most recent estimate or census 
  4.36  count by the state demographer.  The cities are Winona, 
  5.1   Goodview, Stockton, Lewiston, Utica, St. Charles, Dover, Eyota, 
  5.2   Rochester, Byron, Kasson, Dodge Center, Claremont, Owatonna, 
  5.3   Waseca, Janesville, Eagle Lake, Mankato, New Ulm, Sleepy Eye, 
  5.4   Cobden, Springfield, Sanborn, Lamberton, Revere, Walnut Grove, 
  5.5   Tracy, Garvin, Balaton, Tyler, and Lake Benton. 
  5.6      (c) Of the amount appropriated in paragraph (a), 
  5.7   $25,000,000 must be allocated to each city listed above, and to 
  5.8   the counties of Winona, Olmsted, Dodge, Steele, Waseca, Blue 
  5.9   Earth, Brown, Redwood, Lyon, and Lincoln, in proportion to each 
  5.10  city's and county's total traffic exposures, as determined by 
  5.11  the commissioner of transportation.  This appropriation is not 
  5.12  available until (1) the DM&E railroad project has been approved 
  5.13  by the federal surface transportation board, and (2) actual 
  5.14  construction of the railroad project has begun. 
  5.15     Sec. 3.  [BOND SALE.] 
  5.16     To provide the money appropriated in section 2 from the 
  5.17  bond proceeds fund, the commissioner of finance, on request of 
  5.18  the governor, shall sell and issue bonds of the state in an 
  5.19  amount up to $50,000,000 in the manner, on the terms, and with 
  5.20  the effect prescribed by Minnesota Statutes, sections 16A.631 to 
  5.21  16A.675, and by the Minnesota Constitution, article XI, sections 
  5.22  4 to 7. 
  5.23     Sec. 4.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  5.24     Sections 1 to 3 are effective the day following final 
  5.25  enactment.